Robbery charges dropped

EPHRATA — Charges against two men accused of robbing a Moses gas station were dismissed Wednesday in Grant County Superior Court.

Nicholas R. Kager, 22, Moses Lake, and Coyote B. Womack-Tanner, 20, Moses Lake, were each charged with one count of robbery in the first degree.

The two men were accused of robbing the Hill Stop gas station on Pioneer Way at midnight on April 26. Two men, wearing dark clothes and ski masks, allegedly held the clerk up at gun point, stealing $283, according to Grant County Superior Court records.

The man with the gun was reportedly wearing a South Pole jacket, which the clerk described as “puffy” and the other man was wearing an “Abercrombie and Fitch” type sweatshirt, according to the witness’ statement.

The clerk told police the men who robbed the store fled southbound on Pioneer Way toward Interstate 90 in a Cadillac Escalade. Police spotted Womack-Tanner and Kager driving a Chevrolet Tahoe on Interstate 90 faster than the surrounding traffic, according to the Moses Lake police report.

Police reported noticing one of the men pull off a shirt while he was following the car. After stopping the vehicle, the officer started speaking with Womack-Tanner, allegedly noticing an assault rifle in the back of the vehicle.

After police obtained a search warrant for the vehicle, they reportedly found a .40 caliber pistol with three magazines in the car, which police believed was a close match to the gun the witness said was used in the robbery. Police reported they also found a South Pole brand shirt in the back seat and $180 in a Kager’s wallet. But police did not find ski masks

Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Albert Lin said there were inconsistencies between what the victim stated and what the police found, leading to the decision to dismiss the case.

“It leads us to conclude that we can’t prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

The clerk told the prosecutor and defense investigators in a May 13 interview she did not believe Kager and Womack-Tanner committed the crime.

The clerk stated the men who robbed the store were near the same height and weight, but their eyes did not seem the same. In the interview, she stated she told police this when she was asked to identify them.

The clerk told the investigators the clothes didn’t match either, stating the taller man with the gun had a “puffy” jacket, which didn’t look like the South Pole sweatshirt found in the car. She also said both men were wearing boots and Womack-Tanner was wearing shoes when he was arrested about 11 minutes after the robbery, according to court records.

She also said the rear end of the truck the men were driving did not match the rear end of the Tahoe, saying there weren’t any bumper stickers on the SUV used in the robbery, according to court records.

Both Bob Kager and Cindy Robbins, Nicholas Kager’s parents, said in an interview Thursday they were glad the men were released.

“They sat in jail for 32 days for nothing,” Bob Kager said. “It’s not a game. You can’t play that game. They put the family and everybody through a lot.”

Robbins said she is completely unhappy with Grant County and the Moses Lake Police Department, pointing to the victim’s claim she told police she didn’t feel the men committed the crime.

“We are very happy that they’re home,” she said. “We’re not very happy about how this county runs. Especially a police department that would push something like this through on two boys that are innocent.”

Robbins said she feels there should be a civil suit brought against the county, but did not say whether they would bring one.

“I think this whole ordeal was tragic,” Robbins said. “His wife can’t breast feed any more because of the stress. They suffered a lot. This was not a cool thing. We have very little faith in the justice system and the police department.”

Sarah Shaefer, Womack-Tanner’s sister, said she’s glad someone recognized they weren’t guilty of the charges.

“I’m definitely glad this whole thing is over,” she said. “It took a whole month for them to dismiss the case. I’m glad that somebody was able to see that the evidence clearly stated from the beginning that they didn’t do this. … I was disappointed in (Moses Lake Police Department’s) investigation tactics.”

She said both men are also relieved someone believed they didn’t commit the crime.

“Hopefully people understand that the real people who did this are still out there,” she said.